It is impossible not to doff your cap to the current Loughrea hurling panel.
They have taken some very hard and bitter defeats in big games over the years since they lost the county final in 2003 to Portumna.
They have only won one final, 2006, out of the five they have featured in since 2003, and yet to their credit, they keep coming back for more.
Here they are doing the business again in 2012.
And after defeating Turloughmore comprehensively last Sunday on a 1-12 to 0-07 score-line, they find themselves in their sixth final in 10 years.
That is remarkable consistency and deserves respect. Indeed their valiant efforts over the past few years probably merits another county cup success, but no doubt either Gort or St Thomas will have a different view on that opinion.
Loughrea are moving smoothly and they threw the ball around confidently last Sunday. They always looked in control from the moment Kenneth Colleran rattled the Turlough net after 20 minutes, following good play by the impressive Emmet Mahony.
Despite playing against the wind, Loughrea lead by 1-6 to 0-4 at half time and fully deserved their lead with Johnny Maher and Patrick Hoban both raising white flags.
Turloughmore struggled badly to show the form they produced when defeating Portumna in their quarter-final win, and their wait for a first senior county title since 1985 will have to continue for another 12 months at least.
All-star Fergal Moore did very well in defence for the Turloughmore men, but their lack of penetration up front against a resolute Loughrea rearguard left them chasing the game for the entire second half. The fact that only one of their forwards scored from play over the hour tells its own story about the problems they had.
Loughrea appear to have a very nice balance of really talented young hurlers, like county minor Seán Sweeney and young hurler of the year Johnny Coen, blending with some vastly experienced men like Johnny Maher who hit seven points, Vinny Maher, Gavin Keary, Johnny O' Loughlin and Damien McClearn.
Loughrea finished the game strongly and three points in-a-row from Seán Sweeney, Johnny O’Loughlin and Johnny Maher confirmed their superiority.
Having been beaten in the 2009 county final by Portumna and the 2010 final by Clarinbridge - the Loughrea players should have the experience and hunger to make sure that their preparations for the 2012 final are spot on.
They will be hard to stop now, based on what they showed last Sunday in Kenny Park and what they have been through over the past few years.
Scorers for Loughrea: J Maher 0-7 (6fs ), K Colleran 1-0, P Hoban 0-2, J O’Loughlin 0-1, N Keary 0-1, S Sweeney 0-1f.
Scorers for Turloughmore: R Badger 0-3fs, F Forde 0-1, C Burke 0-1, M Keating 0-1, G Burke 0-1’65.
Loughrea: N Murray, Eoin Mahony, D McClearn, S Sweeney, J Coen, P Hoban, B Mahony, G Keary, Emmet Mahony, J O’Loughlin, V Maher, P Hoban, N Keary, J Maher, K Colleran. Subs: J Dooley for Emmett Mahony, T Regan for B Mahony.
Turloughmore: P Dullaghan, M Casserly, R Burke, F Moore, B Holland, D Burke, K Hussey, C Burke, M Keating, M Morris, D O’Shaughnessy, G Burke, F Forde, R Badger, B Murphy. Subs: D Forde for Badger, C Moore for Morris, B Cullinane for Murphy.
